Pneumatic playing attachment for musical instruments.



R. J. BENNETT.

PNEUMATIC PLAYING ATTACHMENT FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 3, 1910. RENEWED JAN.23,1914.

1,089,358, Patented Mar. 3, 1914.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT J. BENNETT, OF MOLINE, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO ARTISTA PIANO PLAYER COMPANY, OF MILAN, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

PNEUMATIC PLAYING ATTACHMENT FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

To all QUIlOWZ it may concern Be it known that I, ROBERT J. BENNETT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Mo line, in the county of Rock Island and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improven'ients in Pneumatic Playing Attachments for Musical Instruments, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification.

This invention relates to the primary pneumatic for controlling the power pneumatic which imparts motion to the hammer or other part of the musical instrument, by

diaphragm composed of rubber or fabric treated with rubber for the purpose of actuating their valves, and it has been found in practice that these diaphragms being quite thin and delicate, soon deteriorate when exposed to the light and direct external atmosphere.

One of the objects of this invention, therefore, is to provide an improved form of pri mary pneumatic in which the diaphragm shall be completely inclosed and protected from injury, both while in use and during handling or transportation.

Another object of the invention is to improve and simplify the construction of the pneumatics whereby a single valve may be employed for controlling both ports, a further object being to so construct the pneumatic that the valve seats and partitions of the pneumatic may be constituted of duplicated elements whereby the expense of extra dies for making elements differently featured, as well as the annoyance and loss of time in the care which has heretofore been required in the proper selection and placement of elements of different formation in the device may be avoided.

With a view to the attainment of these ends and the accomplishment of other obj ects, which will hereinafter appear, the invention consists in certain features of novelty in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts, which will first be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, and then more particularly pointed out in the claim In the said drawings-Figure 1 is a plan section of a primary pneumatic embodying this invention, showing its application to the power pneumatic and wind chest or Specification of Letters Patent. Applicat'i'on filed May 3, 1910, Serial No 559,180,

Patented Mar. 3, 1914.

Renewed January 23, 1914. Serial No. 814,001.

trunk. Fig. 2 is a vertical cross section thereof on the line 22 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan section of the pneumatic detached. Fig. 41- is a vertical cross section on the line t4 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a vertical cross section taken on the irregular sec tion line 55 of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the primary pneumatic looking at the opposite side.

1 is the wind chest or trunk, pneumatic which is shown as supported on the under side of the wind chest in the ordinary way, and 8 is the valve block of the primary pneumatic, which is detachably secured to the wind chest in any suitable manner, as by means of one or more screws 4, in such a position that a port 5 leading from the wind chest will communicate with a port 6 of the primary pneumatic, while another port 7 of the primary pneumatic communicates with a port 8 of the power pneumatic 2 through an intermediate p sage 9 formed in the wall of the wind chest. The port 6 leads into a chamber 10 in the valve block 3, while the port 7 leads into a communicating chamber 11. These chan1- bers are partitioned off from one another by means of an apertured partition carrying a valve seat 12, and directly opposite this partition on the opposite side of the chamber 11 is a similar partition carrying a valve seat 13. Between these valve seats is situated a valve 14: secured to a stem 15 adapted to be actuated for unseating the valve 1 1 by the diaphragm 16 before referred to. The diaphragm 16 forms one wall of the chamber 10, and the outer face of the diaphragm is completely covered by a plug or cap 17, whose inner side is concave to conform to the diaphragm when the latter is in its outward position, or moved away from the seat 12. A convenient method of thus combinin these parts is to first bore the block 3 for the purpose of forming the chamber 10, and then counterboring it to a larger diameter for receiving the plug 17 between which and the shoulders on the block thus formed the edges of the diaphragm 16 are firmly clamped. The plug 17 may be glued or cemented in place, and its outer face protected by a cap 18 composed of paper or other suitable material countersunk in the side of the block and cemented in place, and also serving to close the outer side of a channel or duct 19 formed in the plug 17 for placing 2 the power the outer side of the diaphragm in pneumatic communication with a duct 20 leading through the valve block to a port or passage 21 in the wall of the wind chest to which the tracker board tube is connected as usual for permitting the air to enter the diaphragm chamber between the cap 18 and the outer face of the diaphragm when the note opening in the music sheet passes the opening in the tracker board.

The chamber bounded by the diaphragm 16 and cap 18 is of course connected with the wind chest in order that the air thus admitted through duct 20 may be exhausted when the note opening in the record sheet passes beyond the opening in the tracker board. This is usually accomplished by means of a bleed hole, which in this example of the invention is shown as a small duct 22 connecting the passage 20 with the port 6, but which is of considerably smaller diameter than the tracker board duct 20, so that the air will be admitted through the duct 20 more rapidly than it may be exhausted through the bleed hole 22, whereby the diaphragm 16 will be influenced by the atmospheric pressure admitted through duct 20 to move inwardly, or in a direction to force the valve 1% from its seat 12 and cause its opposite face to engage seat 13, thus connecting port 6 with port 7 and at the same time closing communication between chamber 11 and the external atmosphere through seat 13. When port 6 is thus connected with port 7, the power pneumatic 2 is exhausted through port 8, and caused to collapse, as will be understood by those familiar with the art, and as it does so, the motion of its movable member 2 imparts motion to the piano action or other actuating part of the musical instrument.

The valve stem 15 may be provided at one end with a head 28 to form a suitable bearing for the diaphragm 16, and itmay be mounted and guided in guides 29, 30, which are formed on disks 31, 32 having apertures 33, 84: for the passage of the air, and provided at their edges with cylindrical flanges 35 and flat lateral flanges 36.

The valve seats 12 and 13 are in the form of cylindrical projections formed at the centers of two disks 37, 38 respectively, whose edges are flanged over the flanges 36, as shown at 39, thereby securing the two disks together. The various elements of which one of the valve seat members is composed are duplicates of the corresponding parts of Copies 0! this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the the other valve seat member, so that the two valve seat members may be made from one set of dies, and being duplicates of one another, may be more readily assembled without confusion than if they were not counterparts. The two valve seat members are held in place in the valve block 3 by being forced into their respective chambers against shoulders e0, 11, and if desired, glued or cemented at the edges.

The valve 1a is preferably composed of a metallic disk secured to the stem .15 between two disks of resilient material, such as leather or kid. This valve, it will be understood, presents a smaller area to the atmospheric pressure than the diaphragm 16, so that when atmospheric pressure is admitted to one side of the diaphragm the preponderance of pressure over the valve 1 1 will force it from its seat 12, as before described, but when the valve is in engagei'ncnt with its seat 13, the external atmospheric pressure admitted through the apertures 3 1 will force it from its seat 13 and against its seat. 12, as soon as the admission of air to the passage 19 is cut off by the record sheet and the air back of the diaphragm is exhausted through the bleed hole 22. \Vhen the valve 14; leaves its seat 13, air is admitted to the power pneumatic 2, permitting the latter to expand again and allowing the sticker to drop, as will be understood.

What I claim is:

In a primary pneumatic for pneumatic playing attachments for musical instruments, the combination of a valve housing having a recess and provided with two ports leading thereinto, a diaphragm stretched across said recess, a concave plug secured to the valve block or housing at one side of the diaphragm and having a passage cut therethrough, a tracker board duct leading to said passage, a cap secured to the valve housing and covering said plug and passage, said housing having a bleed hole connecting the spaces at both sides of the diaphragm together, and a valve for intercepting communication between said ports arranged to be actuated by said diaphragm.

In testimony whereo" I. have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, on this 18th day of April A. D. 1910.

ROBERT J. BENNETT.

WVitnesses M. W. OANTWELL, FRANCIS A. Hormrzs.

Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

